Method for robotically applying large volumes of structural foam within automotive applications

ABSTRACT

An innovative robotic foam application process that integrates system communications, non-contact vehicle insertion point locations, and applications controls to accurately dispense a two-component structural foam at a high volume and flow rate. The process begins by first inserting a baffle within the support structure. After an electrocoat application and bake, the baffles expand and are sealed within the support structure to form cavities having a fill hole. A hydraulic driven robotic dispensing system equipped with a high-pressure static mixer senses the respective fill hole, moves a robotic arm to a location sensed, and injects a high volume of mixed two-component viscous material within each of the respective located fill holes at a high fill rate. After dispensing, the viscous material undergoes an exothermic curing reaction to cure and is expanded to substantially fill each cavity.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to robotic devices andmore particularly to a method of robotically applying large volumes ofstructural foam within automotive applications.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, the automobile industry has attempted to improvethe soundproof property of the riding space while maintaining handling,drivability and durability of the vehicle. In order to achieve theserequirements, demands have been made to provide to provide the rigidityand the soundproof property to a variety of areas where loads areimposed.

[0003] It has been suggested that one method for increasing the rigidityof the vehicle body is to introduce a two-component (also known as atwo-pack or 2K) foam into a closed section of the vehicle's pillars.

[0004] Various problems, however, are inherent in currently availabletechnologies or may result by injecting the two-component foamcomposition into the closed sectional structure. For example, while lowvolume dispensing of two-component mixtures is well known, there is noknown process capable of injecting the foam at a sufficient rate andvolume into a vehicle structure with numerous openings that ensures thatthe cavities are completely filled.

[0005] Further, while manual dispensing of higher volume mixtures isalso well known, there is no known automated processes that successfullyand accurately dispenses high volumes of foam at a high flow rate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention addresses some of the problems listed aboveby providing an innovative robotic foam application process thatintegrates system communications, non-contact vehicle insertion pointlocations, and applications controls to accurately dispense atwo-component epoxy foam at a high volume and flow rate.

[0007] The process begins by first inserting a baffle structure intoinner and/or outer structure openings during pillar fabrication. Eachbaffle is error proofed to assure presence and proper fabrication. Afterbody assembly, the vehicle is processed through an electrocoat system.During electrocoat bake, the baffles expand and seal cavity openings.Miscellaneous plugs, grommets, and tape are installed over the remainingcavity holes on the sealer deck. After complete processing, the vehicleenters into a structural foam injection cell. Upon entry into the cell,a three-dimensional vision system is used to locate each fill position.A hydraulic driven robotic dispensing system equipped with ahigh-pressure static mixer injects a high volume of mixed two-componentviscous fluid material within each of the respective located fillpositions using an anti-drool nozzle. After and during dispensing, thematerial undergoes an exothermic reaction (“curing reaction”). At thesame time, the material is also expanded (“foamed”) to substantiallyfill its respective cavity.

[0008] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent upon considering the following detailed description andappended claims, and upon reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle support structure;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a section view of a portion of the D-Pillar of FIG. 1;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a close-up section view of a portion of FIG. 1;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a close-up section view of another portion of FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 6 is a section view of a portion of FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a robotic high volume foamapplication device injecting a foam within a portion of FIG. 1; and

[0016]FIG. 8 is a logic flow diagram of the process for injecting foaminto a portion of the support structure as shown in FIG. 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0017] The present invention relates to a method for introducing astructural two-component foam material within the structural componentsof a vehicle using an innovative robotic high volume structural foamprocess. To help illustrate this process, one proposed use of thepresent invention is illustrated utilizing the D-Pillar for a sportsutility vehicle. As such, the process described below should not beconstrued to be limited to the D-pillar or limited to a sports utilityvehicle, but may find wide reaching applications for reinforcingstructures within the automotive or other industries.

[0018] Referring now to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a vehicle supportstructure 10 for a sport utility type vehicle 11 is illustrated ashaving a pair of A pillars 12, B pillars 14, C pillars 16 and D pillars18 interconnected through a pair of roof side rails 20, 22 and a pair ofbottom rails 24, 26.

[0019] As best shown in FIGS. 2-6, the D-pillars 18 includes an outerportion 25 and an inner portion 27 coupled together such that a hollowregion 29 is formed therein. The D-pillars have a pair of containmentbaffles 40 sealed to the inner walls 41 of the outer portion 25 andinner portion 27 and that together define a respective upper 28 andlower cavity 30 within the hollow region 29. As seen in FIGS. 1-6, theouter and inner portion 25, 27 and baffles 40 contain a layer ofelectrocoat (shown as 43 in FIG. 2). The electrocoat 43 functions as abarrier protector and also aids in adhering the baffles 40 to the innerwalls 41.

[0020] Each of these cavities 28, 30 is subsequently substantiallyfilled with foam 78 through a respective fill hole 32, 34 using arobotic high volume foam application device (shown as 70 in FIG. 76).The fill holes 32, 34, each have a septum 32A, 32B that seals around theinserted foam device 70 to prevent the foam 78 from exiting from therespective cavity 28, 30 during the filling step. The foam 78 is atwo-component viscous mixture that exothermically reacts and expandsafter mixture of the two viscous components and introduction into thecavities 28, 30. A vehicle 9 having the foam filled D-pillars 18 asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 achieves a vehicle torsional stiffness of greaterthan 20 Hertz, resulting in a 42% increase in static torsional stiffness(a 2 dBA overall on rough road) as compared with similar vehicles nothaving the foam filling. Vehicles 9 having the foam filled D-pillars 18also exhibit less squeak and rattle and speech intelligibility.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 7, the robotic viscous fluid applicationdevice 70 comprises a robotic arm 72. The arm 72 is capable of movementin three-dimensions and is electrically controlled using a roboticcontroller 74. The device 70 has a high-pressure static mixer 76 thatensures proper mixing of a two-component viscous fluid composed of aprecursor resin 79 and a crosslinking resin 83 that exothermically reactto form a reacted viscous material. The reacted viscous material is alsoexpanded to form the foam 78 that is dispensed from the static mixer 76through an anti-drool nozzle 80 within the cavities 28, 30. Thepreferred methods for forming the reacted viscous material and foam 78are described below.

[0022] The precursor resin 79 and crosslinking agent 83 are stored inpaste form in a respective storage tank 77, 81 prior to introductioninto the static mixer 76. The precursor resin 79 and crosslinking agent83 are separately dispensed from their respective storage tanks 77, 81via high-pressure lines 105 to a respective shot meter 85, 95.Preferably, each metering device 101 is a servo motor or hydraulicmotor.

[0023] The shot meters 85, 95 are electrically coupled to a dispensingcontroller 97 to control the amount of precursor resin 79 andcrosslinking agent 83 entering a chamber region of the respective shotmeter 85, 95. The shot meters 85, 95 preferably have sensors coupled tothe dispensing controller 97 indicating a filled position and unfilledposition within the chamber region. The relative position of filled andunfilled positions within the chamber region are predetermined by thecontroller 97 based upon the desired shot volume within the static mixer76 and are dependent upon numerous factors, including the ratio ofprecursor resin 79 to crosslinking agent 83, the size of the respectivecavities 28, 30, and the expansion rate of the foam as determined by thecomposition of the respective precursor resin and crosslinking agent 83.

[0024] The dispensing controller 97 opens the respective metering device101 to allow the flow of resin 79 or crosslinking agent 83 into therespective shot meter 85, 95 until the sensors determine a filledposition (i.e. the shot meter 85, 95 contains the proper predeterminedvolume of resin 79 and crosslinking agent 83). The dispensing controller97 then sends an electrical signal to the robotic controller 74indicating that the respective shot meters 85, 95 are in the filledposition and ready for dispensing. The robotic controller 74 sends asignal back to the dispensing controller that the robotic arm 72 is inposition within the respective cavity 28, 30. The dispensing controller97 directs the shot meters 85, 95 to completely evacuate the resin 79and crosslinking agent 83 from the respective shot meters 85, 95 to thestatic mixer 76 through a pair of hoses 107. The static mixer 76 asdescribed above mixes the resin 79 and crosslinking agent 83 to form theviscous material that is dispensed with the respective cavity 28, 30through the coupled nozzle 80.

[0025] The static mixer 76 thoroughly mixes the precursor resin 79 andcrosslinking agent 83 entering via hoses 107. During this mixingprocess, the precursor resin 79 and crosslinking agent 83 begin to curevia an exothermic reaction to form a reacted viscous material. Thereacted viscous material may also be expanded within the static mixer 76or within the cavities 28, 30 to form a foam 78. The preferred methodsfor forming the foam 78 are described below.

[0026] The mixer 76 is coupled to an “anti-drool” nozzle 80 thatprevents the foam 78 from dripping from the nozzle tip 82 duringdispensing. The device 70 also has a three-dimensional vision system 84electrically coupled to a line controller 99 that is capable of locatingeach fill hole 32, 34 (in FIG. 7 fill hole 32 is shown). Thus, thevision system 84 determines the location of the fill hole 32, 34 andsends a signal to the controller 99. The controller 99 then sends anelectrical signal to the robotic controller 74 to move the robotic arm72 to the location of the respective fill hole 32, 34. As describedabove, the robotic controller 74 then sends a signal to the dispensingcontroller 97 to direct the release of the precursor resin 79 andcrosslinking agent from the respective shot meters 85, 95 in acontrolled volume and ratio.

[0027] The controllers 74 parameter programming is open architecture,allowing robot controls to access the controller 74 database viadevice-net communications to reduce processing time. Of course, whilethree controllers 74, 99, 97 may control all of the functions describedabove, it is specifically contemplated that one or two integratedcontrollers may be utilized in a method well known to those of ordinaryskill in the art.

[0028] The three-dimensional vision system 84 preferably comprises acamera 86 and lens 88 located remotely within the foam injection cell 60and electrically coupled to a line controller 99. Of course, inalternative embodiments, the vision system 84 preferably including thecamera 86 and lens 88 could be coupled to virtually any portion of therobotic device 70.

[0029] The device 70 is capable of introducing the foam 78 in therespective cavities 28, 30 at 3000 cubic centimeters (cc) shot volumeand a rate of 150 ccs per second, and more preferably at a rateexceeding 100 ccs per second. This ensures that the cavity 28, 30 isfilled within enough foam 78 prior to expansion to substantially fillthe cavity 28, 30 after foam expansion. Further, because the shot volumeis limited, overfilling of the respective cavity is avoided.

[0030] The structural foam 78 used is preferably formed from acommercially available two-component material that exothermically reactsand expands within the cavities 28, 30 to form a high strength, highmodulus foamed polymer material. As one of ordinary skill appreciates,the ultimate physical properties of the foam 78 are dependent uponnumerous factors, including the chemical composition of the precursorresin 79 and crosslinking agent 83, the presence or absence of catalystsand other reaction aids, and the shape of the respective cavities 28,30. Reinforcing materials such as glass fibers or beads may be added aswell to enhance strength characteristics of the foam 78.

[0031] The expansion of the foam 78 can be accomplished in manydifferent ways. For example, the foam 78 could be produced due to thecreation of gas produced from the reaction between the precursor resin79 and the crosslinking agent 83. Alternatively, a foaming agent couldbe introduced to the reacting mixture as a gas (blowing agent) withinthe static mixer 76 or within the nozzle portion 80 as the viscous fluidexits into the respective cavity 28, 30.

[0032] Another foaming alternative is to utilize expand cell technologyto foam the viscous materials. Expand cells are small gas-filled balloonmaterials that expand when heated. The heat generated during thisexothermic reaction of the viscous components within the static mixer 76and cavity 28, 30 causes the expansion of gas within the expand cells,therein creating pockets within the reacted viscous components. Thesepockets create a foamed structure. The introduction of the expand cellsto the viscous mixture may be controlled in a wide variety of methods.For example, the expand cells may be introduced to either the precursorresin 79 or crosslinking agent 83 within respective tanks 77, 81.Alternatively, the expand cells could be separately introduced to thestatic mixer 76 or nozzle 80 region.

[0033] One preferred foam 78 is formed from the reaction of epoxy-basedprecursor resin 79 with an amine-based crosslinking agents 83 foamedusing expand cell technology. The epoxy groups of the epoxy-basedprecursor resin 79 react with the amine groups of the amine-basedcrosslinking agent 83 to form a reacted epoxy-amine adduct. The heatgenerated during this exothermic reaction causes the expansion of gaswithin the expand cells, therein creating pockets within the reactedepoxy-amine adduct (i.e. foam 78). One preferred type of expand cellutilized in the foaming process is Terecore, available from Henkel.

[0034] In another preferred embodiment, an epoxy amine adduct is formedas above and subsequently expanded using gas evolution technology. Ingas evolution technology, a secondary reaction product formed inaddition to the epoxy-amine adduct is used to expand the epoxy-amineadduct expands to forms the foamed structure 78.

[0035] In yet another preferred embodiment, polyurethane polymers areformed by the reaction of polyol resins (the precursor resin 79) andblocked or unblocked isocyanate-based polymers (the crosslinking agent83). This polyurethane polymer is foamed by introducing nitrogen duringthe reaction process as a blowing agent.

[0036]FIG. 8 illustrates a process flow chart for forming the foamreinforced D-pillars 18 as shown above in FIGS. 2-5 according to apresent invention.

[0037] In Step 100, a pair of baffles 40 is inserted within outer andinner portions 25, 27 each of the pairs of D-pillars 18. Each baffle 40is error proofed to assure presence and proper location within itsrespective portion 25,27. The outer portion 25 is then coupled to theinner portion 27 to form the D-pillar 18 containing the baffle 40.

[0038] Next, in step 110, the vehicle body, including the variouspillars 12, 14, 16, 18 and rails 20, 22, 24, 26 described above, areassembled to form the support structure 10.

[0039] In step 120, the support structure 10 is then introduced throughan electrocoat bath. The electrocoat bath introduces a layer ofelectrocoat 43 to all exposed surfaces of the structure 10 at athickness that is dependent upon the electrical charge applied to theassembly in a method well known in the art. The composition of theelectrocoat 43 is preferably an amine-capped epoxy that is reacted witha blocked isocyanate material well known to those of skill in the art.

[0040] In step 130, the coated structure 10 is introduced to a bakingoven, wherein the electrocoat 43 is cured to the metal parts comprisingthe structure 10. At the same time, the baffles 40 expand to seal to theinner walls 41 between the outer portion 25 and inner portion 27,therein forming the upper and lower cavities 28, 30.

[0041] Next, in step 140, a series of plugs, grommets and tape areinstalled into or over the remaining cavity holes 50 on the sealer deck52. In addition, the septums 32A, 34A covering the fill holes 32, 34 areintroduced.

[0042] The entire structure 10 is then introduced to a paint booth instep 150, wherein the various body panels are painted and otherwiseprocessed in a method well known in the art.

[0043] After paint processing, in Step 160, the structure 10 isintroduced to a structural foam injection cell or area that contains therobotic viscous fluid application device 70. Next, in Step 165, thevision system 84 locates the respective fill holes 32, 34 and sends asignal to the line controller 99. The line controller 99 then interpretsthe electrical signal and sends a second electrical signal to thecontroller 74 of the robotic viscous fluid application device 70 as afunction of the fill hole locations 32, 34.

[0044] In Step 170, the robotic viscous fluid application device 70interprets the processed signal sent from the controller 74, moves therobotic arm 72 to the location of the respective fill hole 32, 34, andinserts the nozzle portion 80 within the respective fill hole 32, 34such that the septum 32A, 34A is sealingly engaged to the nozzle portion80 and such that the tip 82 is contained within the respective cavity28, 30. The robotic controller 74 then sends a signal to the dispensingcontroller 97 that the robotic arm 72 is properly positioned. Thedispensing controller 97 sends a signal to the shot meters 85, 95 torelease the precursor resin 79 and crosslinking agent 83 to the staticmixer 76. The static mixer 76 thoroughly mixes the resin 79 andcrosslinking agent 83 to form a reacted viscous material that begins tofoam. The foam 78 is subsequently injected through the tip portion 82 ofthe nozzle 80 and into the respective fill hole 32, 34. The foam 78 isallowed to further expand to within the respective cavity 28, 30. Theexpansion rate and flow rate of the foam 78 is predetermined to ensurecomplete filling of the respective cavity 28,30 at a desired density.

[0045] Finally, in Step 180, the structure 10 is removed from the foaminjection cell 60. The structure 10 may then be further processed tointroduce various components and features to the respective pillars12,14, 16,18 and rails 20, 22, 24, 26 to form the vehicle 9 in a methodwell known in the art and not a subject of the present invention.

[0046] The present invention thus provides a new process for roboticallyapplying high volumes of structural foam for construction of supportstructures. The process uniquely integrates systems communications,non-contact vehicle insertion point locating, and applications controlsthat accurately dispenses a two-component viscous material at a highvolume and high flow rate. The dispensing control system parameterprogramming is open architecture allowing robot controls to access adatabase via device-net communications to reduce processing time.

[0047] While the invention has been described in terms of preferredembodiments, it will be understood, of course, that the invention is notlimited thereto since modifications may be made by those skilled in theart, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example,while the support structure 10 above contemplated the use of the roboticviscous fluid application device 70 on a D-pillar 18, it is specificallycontemplated that any hollow support structure other than a D-pillar 18may be injected with a support foam using the same process. Further,while the use of a two-component epoxy foam 78 is preferred, otherfoaming chemistries or viscous fluids may be introduced to a cavityusing the device 70.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for reinforcing hollow supportstructures comprising: providing the hollow support structure having aninner wall and a fill hole; introducing a pair of baffles within thehollow support structure; adhering each of said pair of baffles to saidinner wall, therein forming a cavity; forming a two-component viscousfluid within a robotic viscous fluid application device; injecting ahigh volume of said two-component viscous fluid from said roboticviscous fluid application device through said fill hole at a high fillrate, wherein said two-component viscous fluid reacts to form a reactedviscous fluid and wherein said reacted viscous fluid expands to form afoam that substantially fills said cavity.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said high fill rate comprises a fill rate of at least 100 cubiccentimeters per second and said high volume comprises of volume of atmost 3000 cubic centimeters.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein adheringsaid baffles comprises: applying an electrocoat coating to said hollowsupport structure and said pair of baffles; and heating said hollowsupport structure within an oven to expand said pair of baffles to sealto said inner wall of said hollow support structure, therein forming acavity defined between each of said pair of baffles and within saidinner wall.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein forming a two-componentviscous fluid comprises: introducing a first amount of a precursor resinto a static mixer; introducing a second amount of a crosslinking agentto said static mixer; and mixing said first amount and said secondamount within said static mixer to form a two-component viscous fluid.5. The method of claim 4, wherein forming a two-component viscousmaterial comprises: providing a first storage tank having a quantity ofa precursor resin and a second storage tanking having a second quantityof a crosslinking agent; coupling said first storage tank to a firstshot meter and said second storage tank to a second shot meter; couplingsaid first shot meter and said second shot meter to a dispensingcontroller; introducing a first amount of said precursor resin withinsaid first shot meter using said dispensing controller; introducing asecond amount of said precursor resin within said second shot meterusing said dispensing controller; evacuating said first amount of saidprecursor resin from said first shot meter to a static mixer; evacuatingsaid second amount of said crosslinking agent to said static mixer; andthoroughly mixing said first amount of said precursor resin with saidsecond amount of crosslinking agent within said static mixer.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein injecting a high volume of said two-componentviscous fluid comprises: introducing said hollow support structurewithin a structural foam injection cell having a robotic viscous fluidapplication device; moving a robotic arm of said robotic viscous fluidapplication device such that a tip portion of an anti-drool nozzle ofsaid robotic arm is sealed within said fill hole; and injecting a highvolume of said two-component viscous fluid from said robotic viscousfluid application device through said fill hole at a high fill rate,wherein said two-component viscous fluid reacts to form a reactedviscous fluid and wherein said reacted viscous fluid expands to form afoam that substantially fills said cavity.
 7. The method of claim 6,moving a robotic arm of said robotic viscous fluid application devicesuch that an anti-drool nozzle of said robotic arm is sealed within saidfill hole comprises: sensing said fill hole using a three-dimensionalvision system; sending an electrical signal from said three-dimensionalvision system to a line controller as a function of said sensed fillhole location; processing said electrical signal within said linecontroller; sending said processed signal to a robotic controller onsaid robotic high volume application device; interpreting said processedsignal within said robotic controller; and moving said robotic highvolume application device as a function of said interpreted processedsignal such that a tip portion of an anti-drool nozzle of said roboticarm is sealed within said fill hole.
 8. The method of claim 7, whereininjecting a high volume of said two-component viscous fluid from saidrobotic viscous fluid application device through said fill holecomprises: sending a second electrical signal from said roboticcontroller to a dispensing controller after said robotic high volumeapplication device is located within said fill hole; sending a thirdelectrical signal from said dispensing controller to a first shot meterand a second shot meter to evacuate a first amount of a precursor resinand said second amount of a crosslinking agent to a static mixercontained on said robotic arm; thoroughly mixing said first amount ofsaid precursor resin and said second amount of said crosslinking agentto form a high volume of a two-component viscous material; and injectingsaid two-component viscous fluid from said static mixer through ananti-drool nozzle and within said cavity.
 9. A robotic viscous fluidapplication device used to inject a quantity of viscous fluid through afill hole and into a cavity within a hollow support structure at a highfill rate and high volume, the device comprising: a first storage tankholding a precursor resin; a second storage tank holding a crosslinkingagent; a robotic arm capable of three-dimensional movement; a roboticcontroller electrically coupled to said robotic arm and electricallycoupled to said dispensing controller, said robotic controller used tocontrol the movement of said robotic arm; a high-pressure static mixerfluidically coupled to said robotic arm and fluidically coupled to saidfirst storage tank and said second storage tank; an anti-drool nozzlecoupled to said robotic arm and fluidically coupled to saidhigh-pressure static mixer; a line controller electrically coupled tosaid robotic controller; a three-dimensional vision system electricallycoupled to said line controller, said three-dimensional vision used tolocate the fill hole on the hollow support structure and send anelectrical signal to said line controller as a function of said fillhole location, wherein said line controller processes said electricalsignal and sends a signal to said robotic controller to move saidrobotic arm to the fill hole such that a tip portion of said anti-droolnozzle is sealingly engaged within the fill hole; and a dispensingcontroller electrically coupled to said robotic controller and used tocontrol the introduction of a first quantity of said precursor resinfrom said first storage tank to said high-pressure static mixer, saiddispensing controller also used to control the introduction of a secondquantity of said crosslinking agent to said high pressure static mixer,wherein said first quantity of said precursor resin and said secondquantity of said crosslinking agent comprise the quantity of viscousfluid, wherein said dispensing controller allows the introduction ofsaid first quantity of said precursor resin and said second quantity ofsaid crosslinking agent to said static mixer when said roboticcontroller signals to said dispensing controller that said tip portionof said anti-drool nozzle is sealingly engaged within the fill hole. 10.The robotic viscous fluid application device of claim 9, wherein saidline controller, said robotic controller, and said dispensing controllercomprise a single integrated controller.
 11. The robotic viscous fluidapplication device of claim 9 wherein said three-dimensional visionsystem comprises a camera having a lens, said camera being electricallycoupled to said line controller.
 12. The robotic viscous fluidapplication device of claim 9 further comprising a first shot metercoupled between said first storage tank and said static mixer andelectrically coupled to said dispensing controller, said first shotmeter capable of holding said first quantity of said precursor resin anddispensing said first quantity of said precursor resin to said staticmixer as directed by said dispensing controller.
 13. The robotic viscousfluid application device of claim 12 further comprising: a high pressureline coupled to said first storage tank; and a first metering devicecoupled between said high pressure line and said first shot meter, saidfirst metering device electrically coupled to said dispensingcontroller, said first metering device capable of being directed by saiddispensing controller to introduce said first quantity of said precursorresin from said first storage tank to said first shot meter.
 14. Therobotic fluid application device of claim 13, wherein said firstmetering device is selected from the group consisting of a servo drivemotor and a hydraulic motor.
 15. The robotic viscous fluid applicationdevice of claim 9 further comprising a second shot meter coupled betweensaid second storage tank and said static mixer and electrically coupledto said dispensing controller, said second shot meter capable of holdingsaid second quantity of said crosslinking agent and dispensing saidsecond quantity of said crosslinking agent to said static mixer asdirected by said dispensing controller.
 16. The robotic viscous fluidapplication device of claim 15 further comprising: a second highpressure line coupled to said second storage tank; and a second meteringdevice coupled between said high pressure line and said second shotmeter, said second metering device electrically coupled to saiddispensing controller, said second metering device capable of beingdirected by said dispensing controller to introduce said second quantityof said crosslinking agent from said second storage tank to said secondshot meter.
 17. The robotic fluid application device of claim 16,wherein said first metering device is selected from the group consistingof a servo drive motor and a hydraulic motor.
 18. The robotic viscousfluid application device of claim 9 further comprising: a first shotmeter coupled between said first storage tank and said static mixer andelectrically coupled to said dispensing controller, said first shotmeter capable of holding said first quantity of said precursor resin anddispensing said first quantity of said precursor resin as directed bysaid dispensing controller; and a second shot meter coupled between saidsecond storage tank and said static mixer and electrically coupled tosaid dispensing controller, said second shot meter capable of holdingsaid second quantity of said crosslinking agent and dispensing saidsecond quantity of said crosslinking agent to said static mixer asdirected by said dispensing controller.
 19. The robotic viscous fluidapplication device of claim 18 further comprising: a high-pressure linecoupled to said first storage tank; a first metering device coupledbetween said high pressure line and said first shot meter, said firstmetering device electrically coupled to said dispensing controller, saidfirst metering device capable of being directed by said dispensingcontroller to introduce said first quantity of said precursor resin fromsaid first storage tank to said first shot meter; a second high pressureline coupled to said second storage tank; and a second metering devicecoupled between said high pressure line and said second shot meter, saidsecond metering device electrically coupled to said dispensingcontroller, said second metering device capable of being directed bysaid dispensing controller to introduce said second quantity of saidcrosslinking agent from said second storage tank to said second shotmeter.
 20. The robotic fluid application device of claim 19, whereinsaid first metering device and said second metering device are eachselected from the group consisting of a servo drive motor and ahydraulic motor.
 21. The robotic fill application device of claim 9,wherein said dispensing controller controls the ratio and volume of saidfirst amount of precursor resin and said second amount of saidcrosslinking agent comprising the amount of the viscous fluid as afunction of the size of said cavity, the expansion rate of the viscousfluid, and the desired density of said reacted foam within said cavity.